Mike Ionov

🌟 Scaling Care Hires: A Journey from Concept to Industry Leader 🌟 Join us as we trace the incredible evolution of Care Hires, from a mere concept on a piece of paper to a thriving platform serving over 15,000 care workers and 1,000 agencies. Ian Mattioli director of Mattioli Woods plc our first investor and chairman, played a pivotal role in this growth story, embodying the spirit of taking calculated risks to scale efficiently. In this video, explore how strategic decisions like offshoring our tech development to Sri Lanka catalyzed our expansion, enabling us to enhance service delivery and impact across the care sector. Discover the bold moves and visionary leadership that drive Care Hires ongoing success. #CareHires #HealthTechInnovation #StrategicScaling #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #MattioliWoods

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It’s easier to get divorced than to get rid of bad investors. When we first considered raising investment for Fabric Health, we were intentional about choosing the right partners. The frenzy around raising investment as a startup is understandable. It’s scary and all-consuming. But let’s be clear: the amount you raise isn’t the measure of success. At best, you get great partners, and it’s a true partnership. But too many investors claim to be “value-add” and aren’t. At worst, they’re bullies who will run your company into the ground. You can’t survive bad investors. If the relationship goes sideways, it’s not just the founders who are affected—the entire leadership team can be replaced, leaving the company practically unrecognizable. At Fabric Health, we spend a lot of time bringing on the best people—if someone isn’t a “hell yes,” we don’t hire them. So, choose your investors wisely—they can make or break your company.

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Taking Windward public in London was a significant milestone, but the landscape has shifted dramatically. The startup and VC world is facing a silent recession as severe as 2008, yet it’s flying under the radar. Funding is scarce, and many promising companies are quietly closing their doors. But this isn't just about survival—it's about adapting and thriving. In tough times, resilience is key. The startups that emerge from this storm will be the next Airbnb, Uber, or Microsoft. How are we positioning ourselves to not just survive but lead in this new era? For us - it’s very clear. Leveraging our blue chip customer base, proprietary data and mature tech platform to build #generetiveai first products (stay tuned!) Don’t take anything as trivial . Success requires a combination of so many factors. Every day is day 1! Link to the full piece on Forbes : https://lnkd.in/e-5kENaT #wnwd

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Our mission is clear: to make top-tier services affordable and accessible to the mid-market. Freelancers were often the only viable option in the past, while consultancies came with high costs and other downsides. Our experience shows that a small integrated team of senior operators delivers the best results. A rapidly growing number of repeat customers agrees. Reach out to learn how we can help you accelerate growth affordably yet through a best-in-class delivery model. #operatingpartner #commercialexcellence #privateequity #freelancer #managementconsultant Mitul Ruparelia Pedro Correia Krishna Chaitanya Simon Blackburn

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When Babylon Health failed, it was a shock to the UK startup industry. James Pringle and I spoke to Ali Parsa, the founder, back when things seemed to be going great and it makes for an interesting listen knowing what we now know. Ali is clearly an extraordinary entrepreneur who built Babylon into a big business and could’ve made it all the way had the capital kept flowing in 2022. I was sad when it failed. The NHS will ultimately be saved/disrupted/replaced by private companies starting at the edges of healthcare rather than from within. It’s just too big an organisation with too many stakeholder complexities for that to happen. Babylon was one company that could’ve continued to have a HUGE impact on our healthcare system. We covered so many interesting areas in this conversation, including: Entrepreneurship as a process of creativity How the healthcare industry is resistant to change and disruption due to vested interests and the influence of powerful stakeholders. Private sector involvement in healthcare can bring innovation and improve the quality of care. Technology and data have the potential to revolutionise healthcare by making it more accessible, affordable, and preventive. When fundraising, it is important to raise as little money as possible and be disciplined in financial management 🤔❗ Making decisions, even strategic ones, should not be overly time-consuming or fear-driven. Experimentation and adaptability are key. Learning and valuing human stories are essential for personal and professional growth. The future of healthcare lies in personalised, preventive care that utilises data and technology to intervene ahead of time. Well worth a listen below on Riding Unicorns ⤵

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Struggling with how I feel about the $200 million investement in Flo yesterday.. On one hand at least the #economic benefit of #FemTech is being recognised. It is clearly #investible! (But, it isn't like women haven't been saying that for decades now or anything..☝️). I hope this means I no longer have to defend the commercial benefits of improving women's health for our entire #global #economy.. when this #disparity in women's healthcare, means that currently over half the population are limited from contributing to the #economy during their most productive years! 😡😡😡 But on the other hand, it is #disappointing that out of all the incredible #FemTech companies that exist, which are founded by brilliant women founders - that the one that gets the biggest #valuation and #investment is the one founded by two #men.. What #angered me the most, was I saw comments from men such as "maybe they just had a really good pitch..", - how about as commercially minded as these founders may be - they will never have as good domain expertise as a #woman, when it comes to managing #reproductive #health, and the #barriers that #women experience every day in the #health-#care #system. If this doesn't highlight the #gender #bias in the investment landscape, I do not know what does. https://lnkd.in/gae_f8SR #genderbias #investment #genderequity #femtech #startup #entrepreneur #reproductivehealth #womenshealth #venture #success #acheivement

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I have expressed incredulity with news stories from the The Information and they have proven me wrong so this report is truly shocking. Bolt was valued in a peak market Series E in early 2022 at over $11 billion by BlackRock then almost fully written down in 2023 (as many seemed to indicate there was limited revenue or a business model) and now the company is raising $450 million of capital from investors in the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom at a $14 billion valuation? What am I missing here? Hopefully earlier investors have sold secondary shares into this round. #valuations #bolt #ecommerce #alternativeassets #privatemarkets #venturecapital #startups #fintech https://lnkd.in/extH76g2

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💡Benchmarks in the investment industry serve as a standard for measuring the performance of securities, mutual funds, or investment managers. They provide a reference point for analyzing allocation, risk, and return of a portfolio, enabling investors to make informed decisions. Thanks Peter Walker for keeping us all informed!! Can’t wait for this!! Follow and get on the waitlist for this one! #benchmarks #fundraising #Capitalraise #founders #womenshealth #femhealth #medtech #wellness

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Today, I'm thrilled to announce that Flo has raised over $200M in Series C funding led by General Atlantic, an 80b+ leading global growth equity firm. With our valuation now beyond 1 billion, Flo joins the ranks of femtech unicorns, a status achieved by very few companies in this space. This milestone not only validates our mission and approach but also underscores the growing recognition of the importance of female health solutions. After more than eight years of continuous expansion, Flo is now the most downloaded app in the Health & Fitness category, serving nearly 70 million monthly active users (MAUs) and close to 5 million paid subscribers. When founding Flo, we identified a significant gap in women's health services. Today, 1 in 4 US women use Flo, and we're spearheading a global movement to prioritize women's health across all regions.  We have already made Flo available for one billion women in need through our global pro-social program. As of July 2024, over 16 million women worldwide are using Flo Premium for free across 66 countries. This investment will enable us to further our mission of normalizing conversations about women's health, enhancing health literacy, and raising awareness of women's health issues worldwide, with a particular focus on underserved regions. I extend my sincere gratitude to our exceptional team, our loyal users, and General Atlantic for their belief in our mission. With more than 40 years of experience partnering with visionary founders and high-growth businesses to help them scale,  General Atlantic has significant experience in Consumer Subscription businesses (CLEAR, Duolingo, Chess.com, Quizlet, Squarespace), as well as healthcare. Their  deep expertise and commitment to fostering innovation make them an ideal partner for Flo. Given that the femtech industry is poised to be a $60 billion industry by 2027, we are well positioned to revolutionize women's health and make a lasting impact on global health outcomes worldwide. I am also grateful to our advisor, GP Bullhound and Eric Crowley for their help with fundraising. Flo's Board of Directors will be bolstered by the addition of two key General Atlantic executives: Jessie Cai, Principal and experienced operating board member with deep experience in consumer technology/subscription business models, and Tanzeen Syed, Managing Director and Head of Consumer Internet and Technology. Their appointments bring significant expertise in scaling companies at the intersection of consumer technology, healthcare, and subscription business models.   More from Techcrunch here: https://lnkd.in/erjCCWk7

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VCs, it's your turn to accelerate! Mountside Ventures is launching Europe's first VC fundraising accelerator in early 2025, aimed at emerging managers (first to third fund) who want to master the art of fundraising. Unlike founder-focused support, this program directly connects VCs to relevant LPs and helps them refine their pitch and positioning. Mentorship from top-tier LPs and established VCs is part of the deal, and the goal is to level the playing field—especially for underrepresented managers. A rare opportunity to make fundraising smoother and access those hard-to-reach family offices. Wise takeaway for VC in fundraising mode: nobody's paid to speak to you like founders get with VCs. Programs like this one can bridge that gap—apply if you're not getting LP money thrown at you just yet.

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I am very thrilled to announce that we have recently participated in follow-on rounds of existing portfolio companies as well as backed two new exciting digital health companies: Doccla is the leading remote patient monitoring provider in Europe led by Dag Larsson and Martin Ratz. In their recent round led by Lakestar, and supported by Elaia and Optum Ventures we are excited to keep supporting their journey alongside General Catalyst, Giant Ventures, Speedinvest deepc, an orchestration platform for AI, starting with Radiology as the first vertical and led by Dr. Franz MJ Pfister, MD, MBA, where we followed-on alongside Sofinnova Partners with participation from new strategic investors KHP Ventures and SwissHealth Ventures who are supporting the market expansion Guardoc Health led by Hadassah Backman develops a compliance integrity platform to support understaffed and heavily overworked nursing staff with daily documentation, ensure compliance with regulations and improve the audit and billing process in care homes. We seeded the company together with our friends Pitango and the US investor Springbank among others Pi Health led by Geoffrey Kim and Bobby Reddy, MD has built an unique end-to-end software stack for clinical trials. Pi Health was recently spun out of BeiGene, and we invested in their series A together with AlleyCorp and Obvious Ventures    These investments take our Bertelsmann Investments Next growth program to yet another level.   We’re proud to backing the exceptional founders and their teams. We are fully convinced that these companies do make an important contribution to improving healthcare.   cc: Thorsten Wirkes Tim Schneider Agnes Eva Uhr, LL.M. Maximilian Boner #BertelsmannNext #VentureCapital #DigitalHealth #Growth #HealthcareInvestments https://lnkd.in/eDm4JXAh

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"“European startups tend to rely much more on public funding sources or traditional bank loans,” Meyers says. “Atomico’s [report] also reports that VC and limited partnership funders all have a decreased appetite for investing in Europe. This suggests that we have more and more small startups in Europe, but they are fighting over a pool of increasingly sceptical investors,” he says." #sifted #startupfunding #startups #vc #venturecapital #funding #publicfunding #investors #investmentstrategies #investmentmanagement #roi #europe #policy #eu

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The game has changed in healthcare and digital health companies need to take note. Incumbents have more than doubled in size since the start of the pandemic so that means their expectations for acquisition have shifted. It's time to build more "steak" than "sizzle" and play the game differently than ever before. Thanks to my co-author Christina Farr for letting me jump onto Second Opinion Media to share some of our thoughts about how to re-write the playbook when it comes to scaling in #digitalhealth. More 👇 https://lnkd.in/gvu7siaB

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👣 Two major steps towards European Health Assurance ⭐ We are thrilled to support both Doccla and Neko Health expanding their footprint across Europe this week. These two businesses are taking major steps to advance preventative care, critical for the delivery of Health Assurance. At General Catalyst, our European Health Assurance thesis is to build scaled businesses at the intersection of healthcare and technology across geographies. The health aspirations and care needs are the same for consumers and the vulnerabilities of the health systems are similar. However, the build is not easy; each country presents a unique set of challenges—distinct regulatory frameworks, differing care infrastructure, diverse payment models, and legacy technologies – that add complexity. But for the most ambitious, mission-driven European entrepreneurs, complex problems are the greatest opportunities! Born in Sweden, Doccla and Neko were built by Martin Ratz, Dag Larsson, Daniel Ek and Hjalmar Nilsonne respectively with big visions to scale across borders. While they operate at opposite sides of the acuity spectrum and have different approaches to reimbursement, they share an obsessive focus on building consumer-centric, technology-enhanced platforms that engage people in primary, secondary and tertiary preventive care. Just as most of the successful companies of the last decade have radically changed consumer behaviour, Doccla and Neko are standard bearers in a movement that will fundamentally transform how people approach their health. Since our investment, Doccla has scaled to serve over half of the NHS trusts, reducing emergency department visits by up to 60%. With a £35M Series B funding round, Doccla are primed to bring their virtual hospital solutions to France and Germany, bringing the same hospital-grade care to patients in the comfort of their home as in the UK. Neko has facilitated thousands of full body scans in Sweden and uncovered critical health issues that have spared many individuals. Now, with their expansion into the UK, they are cementing their position as the leading destination in Europe for consumers to gain a comprehensive understanding of their health. At General Catalyst, we are committed to creating, investing, partnering and operating to enhance the resilience of European healthcare. We see tremendous value in catalysing this European movement and invite founders, investors and traditional healthcare leaders from across the continent to join us in the pursuit of Health Assurance. The existing 'sick' care system is in a precarious state and can only be transformed into a more proactive, affordable and accessible one if we work together! Hemant Taneja, Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, Paul Kwan, Alexandre Momeni

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Hey, network! 👋 I'm diving into the realm of emerging Healthcare Fintech startups in Europe. Know any game-changers? Tag them in the comments below - I would like to connect and have a chat! #HealthcareFintech #EuropeStartups #Innovation

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We need to talk about *privilege* in the startup space. Privilege = a special advantage or right that a person/group has over others. It's no secret that approximately 90% of venture funding goes to white-male led ventures. And there are a whole slew of messed up current and historical systematic reasons for why that's the case. But, a really really big one - is privilege. In startup world... Privilege is societal norms and expectations that favour men as leaders and entrepreneurs. Privilege is seeing yourself reflected in the people with power, influence, and money (approx 90% of venture capitalists are men). Privilege is not having to worry that your unique attributes might actually make accessing capital or clients more difficult. Privilege is having access to social connections who can give you an edge in accessing funding, partnerships, clients, and resources. That's why I started LifeForce. To help early-stage founders - from all backgrounds - connect with the folks they need to help them succeed. Because a lack of access to resources, relationships, and capital shouldn't be the reason why so many founders building life saving and life changing advancements are unable to continue their work. ------------------------ Hi! 👋 I’m Alexandria, a former Chief People Officer passionate about startups, innovation, community, and connection. I connect early-stage founders with the experts they need to overcome their biggest challenges and focus on doing what they love - without killing their runway to do so. #startup #founder #privilege #vc

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With just two weeks to go, we’re thrilled to have over 50 registrations, and there are still some free tickets available! Fundraising often takes longer than expected, so join us to make valuable connections and kickstart your 2025 fundraising journey. Free tickets for healthcare startups and investors are available—please reach out to me or Roland Petrenkó from SS&C Intralinks for details. As we’re prioritizing these tickets for healthcare companies and investors, please be aware that consultancies are generally not given preference. Our second Capital for Cures forum will feature an exceptional panel: Dr. Bodo Alexander Marr, VP and Head of M&A/Treasury at MorphoSys Roby Kanichay, Head of Technologies and Externalizations at Merck Healthcare Tobias Goetz, Director of Corporate Development/M&A at @Fresenius Group For more information, visit capitalforcures.com. Looking forward to seeing you in Frankfurt! #CapitalForCures #venturecapital #BiotechFunding #LifeSciencesInvesting #FutureOfHealth

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This is an absolutely fantastic resource for anyone looking at building healthtech solutions, particularly if you are trying to raise capital early on. Addressing the very likely risks early on allows you to demonstrate a logical business case and if anything, reassure yourself that you are dedicating time/effort to a viable and robust proposition. We fell short on many of the suggestions Wesley mentions but you learn from it! #healthtech #technology #risk

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